maple sugaring! step 2: how we make maple syrup

By each evening, the sap buckets are full. The maple sap from each bucket is emptied. It will be stored for a week, until we have gathered enough maple sap to make maple syrup. We need to harvest 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Sweet sap is often tempting to little tasters.

Once emptied, the sap buckets are brought back into the woods to collect more maple sap from our sugar maple trees.

The sap buckets are hung back on the tree. The 'ping...ping' begins again. Our maple sap buckets are filled and emptied each evening for a week. Others collect their maple sap for a few weeks for a larger maple sap harvest.

Sap cycle: The buckets are hung on the trees to collect sap once again.

Maple sap is boiled over a wood fire until much of the water is evaporated. Our smokehouse does double-duty as our maple sugaring house. The sap slowly turns dark as it is ladled from the pan on the right to where it has become syrup on the left. As the syrup evaporates and becomes more concentrated, more sap from the right pan is added to the left pan. Our syrup takes around 30 hours of fire-tending to evaporate before it will be poured in jars that will hold this liquid gold.

By each evening, the sap buckets are full. The maple sap from each bucket is emptied. It will be stored for a week, until we have gathered enough maple sap to make maple syrup. We need to harvest 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Sweet sap is often tempting to little tasters.

Once emptied, the sap buckets are brought back into the woods to collect more maple sap from our sugar maple trees.

The sap buckets are hung back on the tree. The 'ping...ping' begins again. Our maple sap buckets are filled and emptied each evening for a week. Others collect their maple sap for a few weeks for a larger maple sap harvest.

Sap cycle: The buckets are hung on the trees to collect sap once again.

Maple sap is boiled over a wood fire until much of the water is evaporated. Our smokehouse does double-duty as our maple sugaring house. The sap slowly turns dark as it is ladled from the pan on the right to where it has become syrup on the left. As the syrup evaporates and becomes more concentrated, more sap from the right pan is added to the left pan. Our syrup takes around 30 hours of fire-tending to evaporate before it will be poured in jars that will hold this liquid gold.